Caught in the Sun: Tama o nazukeru hansoku
by TachyonOne
Summary: Kaolla decides to make a rather uninspiring World Cup match a bit more interesting. Part of a special fanfic series.


For more information about this fanfic series, go to http://www.infinitedeferral.com/ or for other fanfics in this series, go to my profile at http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=79367 .  
  
Caught in the Sun  
  
A 2002 World Cup / Anime Fanfic Series  
  
By Roehl Sybing (indef@infinitedeferral.com)  
  
Episode Three: Tama o nazukeru hansoku  
  
Group G: Croatia v Mexico @ Niigata  
  
A Love Hina Fanfic  
  
"A goalless draw in the works at the Big Swan in Niigata, where Croatia and Mexico are playing rather uninspiring soccer in their opening World Cup match. Shots have been hard to come by after seventy-one minutes of play, each team has taken it to the net only twice before a capacity crowd that is looking for any reason to celebrate. But as the story has been, not much has gotten in the way of what is shaping up to be an awful display of soccer at the World Cup level."  
  
---  
  
They all slumped down into their seats, finding the game rather hard to watch. Naturally, Mutsumi was the first to go, but Motoko and Kitsune became thoroughly uninterested as the match progressed. Shinobu and Kaolla looked at the others, trying to speculate how much a waste of time they were having.  
  
"Why is everyone so down?" Shinobu asked innocently.  
  
"The game is terrible," Kitsune replied, yawning through her words, "Why did we ever grab those tickets?"  
  
"Agreed," Motoko said, her head resting on her hand, "This is not a thrilling performance."  
  
Suddenly, Kaolla stood up. "Leave that to me!" she cried emphatically, "I'll put a stop to this!" And so, with everyone's attention focused on her, Kaolla grabbed a remote out of her pocket and activated it. Sure enough, another of her inventions drew near, this time from the sky.  
  
"Wait!" Shinobu said, "Where are you going?"  
  
"Gotta go pick up some things!" Kaolla said, as what looked like a glider firmly latched on to her to take her away, "I'll be right baaaaaack!"  
  
They, and several hundred others in the stands around them, watched Su-chan take off into the sky, almost certain to be heard from again. Her jet- powered glider lit up the afternoon sky and provided some shade of entertainment for the fans in the seats, creating some applause that had nothing to do with the actions on the field.  
  
"Well," Kitsune said, stretching her arms, "That's three walkouts."  
  
---  
  
Naru and Keitaro walked the oval-shaped concession area underneath the stands at the Big Swan, one insisting to the other that they were not on a date, and that absolutely no close contact or lecherous looks would be tolerated. They simply wanted to get away from the sight of the game being played on the field, and that excuse was alright with Keitaro, so long as he was with Naru. And he had some extra money to spare, so they made a lunch break out of a nearby food stand and a bench.  
  
"All things considered," Naru said, "I'm having a good time, how about you?"  
  
Keitaro looked up, "Me? Absolutely."  
  
"Oh, you have something...on your lip there," she said, pointing to a crumb of food.  
  
"Oh!" he cried, covering his mouth. They both laughed it off as she drew closer to have a better look. He stopped laughing as he surmised her intention was to share a playful kiss. It was a foolish fantasy for him to have, but his heartbeat grew faster as she inexplicably went eye to eye with him.  
  
Then, all of a sudden, she stopped.  
  
"There you go!" Naru said, picking off the food from his mouth, then having more amusement about it. Keitaro tensed up, disappointed though he hid it from her.  
  
"I'll go grab us some tissues, OK?" she said before running off.  
  
He watched her leave him temporarily, and huffed. Keitaro wanted so much to move in on her, but he always wondered if the rewards justified the risks. He was the expert on it; he bore the scars without even trying to find out. But today was different. Today he was on such a hot streak. He snagged those tickets for the game, managed to sneak away with Naru and succeeded in not doing anything that had the faintest look of being perverted. He was feeling good, and it even had nothing to do with not being sent clear into the air lately.  
  
In any case, Keitaro was on a happy step. For once, he had a chance with Naru! He felt like dancing, and did it ever so clumsily in the crowded concession area, replete with obstacles of passersby.  
  
"Keitaro, I--Keitaro!" Naru said. She had returned with some extra tissues for the food, only to find him flat on his face, atop a pile of teenage girls with the colors of the Mexican flag painted on their faces. Oddly enough, his hand landed on one girl's chest, while his foot rested on another girl's rear. He would've recoiled at the horror of being caught in another compromising position if he weren't still seeing stars from a few untimely missteps.  
  
Eventually, he tried to get up, but the girls that were victimized by Keitaro's dancing kept kicking him and yelling curses while he was down. When they finally walked away, his head hit the cement, and he held both of his legs to gauge which muscles were sore. Keitaro clenched his teeth and looked up. He heard Naru's voice when he hit the deck the first time...perhaps...?  
  
On the floor were the set of tissues that she had gotten for him, and in the distance a figure that looked very much like Naru was running away.  
  
"Narusegawa!" he cried, "I can explain!" But it was no use as the noise of the crowds going here and there drowned out his plea. The best he could do was chase after her, hoping for yet another second chance.  
  
---  
  
"Both Croatia and Mexico look like they're destined to share the spoils of this opening match. A midfield game all the way, neither side able to confidently push the ball forward, and as we approach the ninetieth minute, that's where we stand: no score. Hold on a second...everyone in the stands is looking up into the sky...what is that?"  
  
"Tama-missiles, away!"  
  
Kaolla, sure enough, returned the same way she left, but this time she brought along some goodies. Shinobu and the others looked on as she dropped unmarked objects onto the field in a methodical fashion. She took care not to actually hit the players on the field, but the diminutive turtle-shaped cluster bombs exploded near enough and just powerful enough to cause them to fall to the ground with almost injury-inducing force. The midfielders looked on and had more of a reaction time, and simply ran for their lives. The missiles exploded near them anyways, as one of them went flying over the head of a TV cameraman who had caught it all for the world to see.  
  
The goalkeeper on the other end of the field watched as his fellow teammates went down, one by one. He watched as Kaolla flew through the air on her glider, and was aiming for him. Or at least the ball that was drifting in his direction, kicked his way by the opponent's striker before he himself was knocked onto the edge of the penalty box by another of Kaolla's missiles.  
  
"Croatia's keeper breaks off his line and makes the diving save for the ball, keeping it away from the...uh...extra player, who has just been ripping through the defense of everyone involved!"  
  
"Take a look at the replay. Those small bombs look like they're turtles! Whatever they are, the one that Mexico's midfielder got a piece of sent him flying out of bounds. Very effective strategy in stopping the Mexican offense."  
  
"Not that they had any to begin with, and this crowd is just going wild! No card shown, either; the referee got caught in a blast and he's out, too! This is certain disaster for both sides, no doubt about it. Some of them look like they may not be participating in their respective second matches. What a price to pay for what seemed to be a goalless draw!"  
  
The last of Kaolla's missiles hit the crossbar and bounced onto the penalty area. She found her last target, and the goalkeeper didn't see it coming as the blast pushed him forward, dropping the ball onto the field for no one left to take it.  
  
Kaolla gave her wide-eyed friends a thumbs up as she came around for another pass to grab the ball. But when she dropped down towards the ground too fast, she had no choice but to pull up, losing something very important as it dove to the ground.  
  
"Tama!" she said as the turtle landed onto the pitch. It smiled innocently at the crowds in the stands, and as the only moving object left on the field, Tama slowly crawled towards the gold-colored match ball not twenty yards away, while the entire stadium fell silent, save for the commentators in the booth.  
  
"It's onsides! It's onsides!"  
  
---  
  
"Narusegawa!" Keitaro cried. He ran as far as Naru would go, and eventually she would run out of breath and would have to stop. The chase took two laps around the oval underneath all the seats before she did.  
  
"Narusegawa..."  
  
"Get away from me, you jerk!" Naru exclaimed. Keitaro was taken aback, despite his determination to offer an explanation. She had her back turned to him as she knelt down for air, almost choking up on the buildup of the stress on her system.  
  
"I-I'm sorry," Keitaro said after waiting for her to calm down, "I made a mistake!"  
  
Naru turned around, still huffing and reaching for air as her whole body tightened and contracted in a perpetual motion. She walked up to him, saying, "Just...try to understand, OK?"  
  
Keitaro looked at her, puzzled, "Understand what?"  
  
"This," she said. And then the fire in her eyes.  
  
"AAIIIIIIEEEEEE" was the sound Keitaro made as he was sent up into the air by a blast from Naru. Since he was indoors, though, he was quickly sent back down to Earth by the force of the ceiling. He went into the pavement, head first, almost putting a crack in the cement, before finally falling flat onto the ground.  
  
"Ahh," she said, breathing a sigh of relief, "I haven't done that in a while."  
  
"N-Narusegawa..." Keitaro mumbled, still motionless on the floor.  
  
"I was waiting for the right moment. I haven't done that in a while. You've been on your best behaviour lately, haven't you?" Naru said, smiling, "I feel a lot better now."  
  
"Glad...I could help," he said.  
  
Naru happily scraped him off the floor, a bruised and battered figure that had more punishment than any mere mortal could endure.  
  
"I'm having a good time, Keitaro," she said, unconcerned with his appearance, "What about you?"  
  
---  
  
Tama gave the ball a slight push, and seemed to giggle as it moved the ball along, over the arm of the fallen keeper and quite slowly towards the uprights. The crowd of tens of thousands held their collective breaths as the small creature moved ever so steadily towards the net. Kaolla dropped into her seat right next to everybody else, just in time to see the only goal of the game. Not a whisper was made before Tama gave one last push with its nose and navigated the ball over the chalked line in the field. Only then did the fans erupt with a roaring celebration.  
  
"Goal! The turtle beat the keeper to cap a thrilling score! One-nil, Mexico!"  
  
The turtle looked about the stadium, as columns of fans offered a standing ovation attached with jubilant applause. In return, it lifted its hand to wave, mostly to wave at Kaolla and the others, who also cheered it on from their seats.  
  
The raucous crowd was just loud enough for Mutsumi to wake up. She weakly gathered her bearings and looked up.  
  
"Did I miss anything?"  
  
END.  
  
Next match:  
  
Episode Four: Japan v Belgium @ Saitama  
  
A Maison Ikkoku Fanfic 


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